How do you set up a rain garden?

Create the rain garden by building a berm in a low spot in the yard, then build swales to channel runoff from the gutters and higher parts of the yard. The water is then absorbed into the soil through the network of deep plant roots. Use a mix of plants adapted to your area and to the different water depths.

How deep does a rain garden need to be?

A typical rain garden is between four and eight inches deep. A rain garden more than eight inches deep might pond water too long, look like a hole in the ground, and present a tripping hazard for somebody stepping into it.

Do rain gardens attract mosquitoes?

Will mosquitoes like rain gardens too? No. Mosquitoes require at least seven days of standing water to complete their cycle before. A properly constructed rain garden should drain within twenty-four hours after a rain event.

When should you plant a rain garden?

Although a rain garden can be installed anytime the ground is not frozen, spring and fall are the best times to start your garden. In spring, the soil is easier to dig and the rainy weather means less initial watering.

What plants are best for rain garden?

Plant a Rain Garden
  • Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
  • Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
  • Swamp mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
  • Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium)
  • Sedges (Carex)
  • Bluestar (Amsonia)
  • Turtlehead (Chelone)

Are daylilies good for rain gardens?

Brilliant flowers range in color from clear yellow to orange to red and bright pink. Most Daylilies grow to about two feet tall and wide and will still flower profusely in partial shade. Even when not in flower, Daylilies provide nice texture in the rain garden with their narrow, fountain-like leaves.

Can you plant trees in a rain garden?

Most of the vegetation planted in rain gardens consists of shrubs and herbaceous plants, but you can also install trees in a rain garden if you wish. However, you must pick species that can adapt to the conditions present in or near the rain garden if you want to give the trees the best chance of thriving.

What characteristics are necessary for a plant to thrive in a rain garden?

This rain garden type requires an overflow structure with an under drain and provides water quality treatment only. Rain gardens are 12-inch-deep depressions with an 18-inch-thick layer of growing medium (soil, sand, and compost mix).

How do you build a rain garden in clay soil?

Try using a 2:1 ratio of the drainage area to the surface area of your garden (most rain gardens in better soils use approximately a 4:1 ratio). For instance, if your garden will be draining a 200 sq. ft. of rooftop, plan the surface area of your garden to be 100 sq.

Do you mulch a rain garden?

TIP: You may want to mark rain garden plants with small planting stakes until they are established. Mulch: Until the rain garden plants are established, mulching the edge / slope of the rain garden interior will discourage weed growth and soil erosion.

How much maintenance does a rain garden need?

After the first two years, once plants are established, watering should only be necessary during drought conditions. When irrigating, water deeply, ensuring that water reached below the mulch layer and into the soil a minimum of every three to six days.

How long do rain gardens last?

Nor is it a pond or a wetland. Conversely, a rain garden is dry most of the time. It typically holds water only during and following a rainfall event. Because rain gardens will drain within 12-48 hours, they prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

Are ferns good for rain gardens?

Sedges, Ferns and Grasses for Your Raingardens

Ferns and grasses and of course sedges are a wonderful complement to any garden, but even more so to a rain garden. Ferns are another type of plant that loves the wet, but are usually in need of a large amount of shade.

What are the benefits of rain gardens?

Filter pollutants from runoff, • Recharge groundwater, • Conserve water, • Protect guts, ponds and coastal waters, • Remove standing water in your yard, • Reduce mosquito breeding, • Increase beneficial insects that eliminate pests, • Reduce potential of home flooding, • Create habitat for birds & butterflies, •

Are rain gardens easy to maintain?

The result will be an exciting and stylish landscape that is easy to maintain, conserves water, and provides long-term benefits to you and the environment.

How do rain gardens work?

A Rain Garden receives water from impervious (hard) surfaces such as rooftops, sidewalks, driveways and patios. The shallow depression of the garden holds the water so it can slowly infiltrate back into the soil as the plants, mulch and soil naturally remove pollutants from the runoff.

Can you plant a garden next to your house?

Be sure not to put the garden too close to your house, which will cast shadows; keep planting areas at least 10 feet away from the walls. Vegetables planted in the shade are less productive and may be more susceptible to disease and insect damage than planted in full sun.

Are Rain Gardens expensive?

The cost associated with installing residential rain gardens average about three to four dollars per square foot, depending on soil conditions and the density and types of plants used in the installation. Commercial, industrial and institutional site costs can range between ten to forty dollars per square foot.